Texas veteran housing assistance delayed by paperwork

Jul. 17, 2014 - 09:32AM
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HOUSTON — Some Houston veterans say they’ve been sleeping on the streets or in shelters due to a disagreement between federal and local officials over housing assistance vouchers.

The Houston Chronicle reports that the Department of Veterans Affairs and Houston housing officials could not agree on how many vouchers were available for homeless veterans.

Housing vouchers are funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Veterans must be referred from the VA.

An audit of emails and data by the newspaper shows that 720 months of rent from the Harris County Housing Authority went unused last year. Another 370 months of rent were unused by the Houston Housing Authority.

VA and Houston-area housing authorities say they are working to get the homeless veterans into housing.